


A Better Tomorrow

by Titti



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Post War, Sirius Black Fest, Sirius Black Fest 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:21:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27377131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Titti/pseuds/Titti
Summary: After the war, Sirius decides to fix up Grimmauld Place and hires Draco.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 8
Kudos: 55
Collections: Sirius Black Fest 2020





	A Better Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> The ages of the first born Blacks having children is taken straight from the Black Family Tree.

One day, Sirius appears inside the Department of Mysteries. No one knows how or why the Veil spat him out. No one really cares. The war has been over for five years. The trials ended long ago, all Death Eaters are dead or in Azkaban and Sirius is a hero. 

Sirius doesn't feel like a hero. He doesn't feel like anything. Almost everyone he knows and cares for is dead. Harry is the only exception.

Harry is twenty-three, as tall as James used to be and engaged. He's fixed Lily and James' house in Godric's Hollow and lives there. There's a confidence in the young man that Sirius doesn't think James ever had. He's rich, famous, a good Auror and simply _knows_ his place in the world. He is also generous to a fault. He hands back Sirius his money and house within minutes of Sirius' return.

Grimmauld Place comes with Kreacher. The only condition Harry has is that Sirius must be nice to the house-elf. He tells Sirius how much Kreacher helped during the war and maybe he could learn a thing or two about Regulus. The house comes also with Spuffy, Kreacher's new pregnant wife. Sirius tries not to think about house-elves and procreation. 

This is how he finds himself back in that house with nothing to do. In a few days, he'll turn thirty-seven or forty-four, depending how you count his time in the Veil. "This is depressing," he says to no one in particular as he sits in the cavernous kitchen. There's a cup of tea in front of him and Kreacher is pottering around. "When's that baby of yours arriving?"

"Kreacher do not know. Babies don't come on a schedule, but soon," the house-elf says, and it's clear in his voice that he thinks Sirius is an idiot if he doesn't know that already.

"We might share a birthday." Sirius snorts at the expression Kreacher makes. It's the house-elf's way to tell him to piss off without being rude. "You'll need more room." Harry mentioned it in that casual way that means that he knows Sirius wouldn't think of it, even though he should have. He sounds a lot more like Lily than James. "We should remodel your room."

"The whole house should be remodeled," Kreacher mutters under his breath.

"Hey, the house is…" Sirius stops. The house is even worse than it was during the war. Kreacher and Spuffy have kept it clean, but even magic can't stop time. 

"It really is terrible. Mother would be horrified." Deep down, he knows that it's the only reason why he hasn't tried to change it. It's not like he's particularly attached to snakes on green wall paper, snakes on silver ornaments, snakes just about everywhere.

"Mistress has not lived here for nineteen years," he says with a sigh. "She did not fix the house since Master Regulus died. That was twenty-five years ago."

"Harry did suggest talking to Cissa's kid. He's apparently some kind of interior decorator," Sirius says, although he isn't sure why they are trusting a Black and a Malfoy. He is the only Black that could be trusted. Harry disagrees.

"Mister Malfoy is not an interior decorator," Kreacher says with a huff, once again showing his displeasure with Sirius' ignorance just with the tone of voice. "He specialises in remodeling old homes. He is very renowned. He is very polite."

Sirius snorts now. "Malfoys are never polite. They are rude and arrogant." And apparently the ones to fix your home, probably putting all sorts of hidden things that can kill you. Sirius will always believe that, despite Harry's reassurances, but since he is clearly outnumbered, and Spuffy will have that baby sooner rather than later, he sends an owl to Malfoy. It takes less than an hour to get an owl back and to set an appointment for that same day.

Draco arrives dressed in impeccable robes that make Sirius want to pull at the collar of his own robes. He looks the spit image of his father, although he's taller, almost as tall as Sirius. It's the Black genes. "Mr. Black, or should I call you 'Sirius'? Mother sends her regards. She gave me this." He hands Sirius a sealed letter. 

The sealing wax bears the Black family crest and not the Malfoy one. Sirius finds that interesting. "Sirius is fine and you must be Draco. How is Cissy?" he ends up asking, even though he hasn't spoken to her in ages.

"She's well. She's currently busy with Aunt Andromeda preparing the Manor's grounds for a Hallow's Eve party. They've decided to invite all magical children not at Hogwarts. It'll be an absolute madness," Draco says, smiling.

"That doesn't seem her style," Sirius answers.

Draco chuckles. "You must not know her style. Mother loves children. The grounds have been turned into many wonderlands for my parties when I was growing up. She claims that it's for Teddy, but it's for her and for me to understand that it's time to have a child."

"Teddy? As in Remus' child?" Sirius asks, confused. Harry testified for the Malfoys. Cissy and Andromeda are apparently speaking. The Malfoys host a party for the son of a half-blood werewolf. Draco is… polite. Has he stepped into the Twilight Zone? (He knows what that is because of Lily.) 

"As in Aunt Andromeda's grandchild. No offence to Professor Lupin, but I doubt Mother would be entertaining random children if they weren't related to us," Draco points out.

"Unless it's a Hallow's Eve party," Sirius answers, because he wants to be annoying.

"Well, yes, that's different. She's not throwing the party for them." Draco steps further into the house and looks around. "Potter did say that it's terrible."

"How? Why? I only owled two hours ago." Sirius doesn't like this at all. Why is Draco talking to Harry? What is he planning?

"We've been talking about this house for years. After the war, a lot of the heads of families ended up in Azkaban. The wives and children couldn't always pay to keep them, and to sell them, they didn't need just new wall paper and a polished floor, but also they needed for old spells to be removed and that's where I come in. I focused on that, but with time, there were less homes that would kill you and I found that I enjoyed the decorating side of it." He makes a face as stares at the umbrella stand. "Potter actually was the one getting me my first job. He kept mentioning this house and wanting to fix it. I offered to do it for him for free, but he kept saying that it didn't feel like it was the right time. His guts told him to wait. We can all agree that the wizarding world is pretty happy that he follows his guts so I didn't push and here we are."

Sirius looks at the foyer, trying to see what Draco or any stranger is seeing as he speaks about his credentials. Before he can reach any conclusion, Sirius is interrupted by his mother's portrait. He half expects Draco to leave before one of his ear drums explodes, but Draco stays.

"Aunt Walburga, how _nice_ it is to finally meet you," he says with a slight bow of the head. The pleasant manners shock her into silence. "Mother wishes to extend her greetings as well. I hope you and I can work together while we redecorate. A Black house should show the family's status, should it not? Anyway, Sirius will be showing me the house now. I'm sure we'll have the opportunity to speak in the future."

Sirius isn't sure what's happening. It looks like his mother might be smiling and it's a frightful sight. He takes that as a sign that they should escape while they can. "Right, let me show the house." He starts with the basement, which is the most lived in room. "This is Kreacher's domain. And you aren't really planning on listening to her, right? She's balmy."

Draco raises an eyebrow. "Do you take me for a fool? Of course, I'm not listening to a portrait, but also I'm not working with her screeching like a banshee the entire time. Now that we have a proper relationship, I can do what I want. I think we need to brighten up this room, although it's so big. I don't see why you need a table to seat twelve when it's just you. We can make the room a smaller and give the house-elves proper accommodation, with two bedrooms and a sitting room. They can display the house-elves' heads you have upstairs in their sitting room, impress any house-elf that visits them."

Sirius thinks Draco has lost his mind until he gets to the last part. If he can finally get rid of those atrocities and do it in a way that pleases Kreacher, he's willing to give up the entire kitchen. "Right, that's a brilliant idea."

"I'm full of brilliant idea," Draco says with a wink. "Now, let's see the rest of the house and I can impress you with more suggestions."

Sirius has to admit that Draco really does have great ideas, especially for the many rooms that were turned into bedrooms by Dumbledore. They were useful to house the Order, but they will never be used again unless he turns the house into an inn. So now there are plans for a drawing room, a music room, a tea room and more rooms that he can remembers. On the upper two floors, there's a living room for him, one that he can really use and not the one with the stuffy furniture in the drawing room. 

The only point of contention is Regulus' room. Draco wants to change it, for potential children Sirius doesn't think he'll ever have. Sirius feels like he's giving up the last piece of his brother and that hurts now that he has found out that his brother did more to stop Voldemort than he ever did. They agree to leave it alone until the rest of the house is finished.

Work starts soon after. His mother doesn't scream, which is already some kind of miracle or dark arts. Sirius is leaning toward the latter, which is why he shadows Draco all the time. He still thinks that he's up to something, because all Slytherins are evil, although apparently Regulus wasn't, but other than some conspiracy to avoid the colour red, he can't find any faults.

Draco, on the other hand, seems to ignore the fact that Sirius is so close that they bump into each other more than once during the day. In fact, Sirius is pretty sure that _Draco_ is the one doing the bumping half the time, although he can't understand why. It only makes him more determined to figure out what Draco's plans are. He even goes so far to tell Harry when he sees him on a Saturday after. 

Harry laughs when he hears that. "I thought he was up to something for years."

"See? I'm telling you, he wants something," Sirius tells him.

Harry smiles, like he has the answers to the universe. In a way, he reminds Sirius of Dumbledore and his bloody self-confidence. "He might want something, but not what you think," he said in the same vague way Dumbledore used to speak. 

Sirius doesn't like it one bit. He's the adult. He's supposed to show Harry how to be mature and yet he's the one who feels like a teenager here. It's not a feeling he likes. He's still mulling it over two days later when Draco return for his third week of work.

"What's wrong with you?" he asks out of the blue when he takes a break and they have lunch together. 

It's something that they started on day two to celebrate his birthday. By day four, they were also having dinner together and Draco was working late. Sirius never asks why Draco stays around that long, because he doesn't want it to stop. After all, he doesn't have any friends and he doesn't want to be alone.

"Is it the food? I know it tastes different. Our house-elves have been making the food to help Kreacher and Spuffy with the baby. Can you believe the name?" Draco asks, laughing.

"Why is it funny? Drarry sounds like all the other house-elves' names," Sirius says.

"Because Kreacher wanted to honour Potter and the Black heritage. Rarry didn't sound so good for Regulus, so Draco and Harry. He's still trying to find a combination that works with Regulus' name for the next child," Draco explains.

Sirius chokes on the tea he's drinking. "That is- I'll never be able to call that baby that."

Draco chuckles. "I'm sure you'll manage. Say, are you busy this Friday?"

He knew it! This is it. Whatever Draco is planning will finally be revealed. "Not sure," he said in a bored tone, although he had no plans. He never has plans. Considering that he went to Azkaban at twenty-one and his friends are dead, he's not sure what plans Draco expects him to have. "Why?"

"Pansy is throwing a masquerade for her birthday. It's… an event, everything is with her, but it's also lots of fun," Draco explains.

Sirius frowns, not sure he understands the plan. Or even what Draco is trying to say. "And I care why?"

"I thought you could come with me. Her parties are fantastic, but they are so very heterosexual. Not that I mind women, they are beautiful enough to look at, but if I have one more woman trying to sleep with me, I might hex her, and then I'd end up in Azkaban and I'd never finish the house. So really you'd be joining me out of self-interest," Draco says.

Sirius knows when he's being handled. He is a Black, for Merlin's sake. His mother played those games on a daily basis. On the other hand, he can't find a downside to this. A party would do him good, although he's not sure about the guest list. In his days, women didn't try to bed potential husbands at a party. "You do know that I'm old enough to be your father, right?"

"You're thirty-seven and I'm twenty-four. I know my grandfather was twelve when he impregnated his wife, but I hope it's not common," Draco says scrunching his nose.

Sirius starts laughing in a way he hasn't in decades. It's silly, because it's not that funny, but the irony isn't lost on him. "My grandfather was twelve when he impregnated his wife."

"Merlin's balls, our family is fucked up, isn't it?" Draco says, shaking his head.

"And I come to my insanity honestly, I'm a Black on both sides. First cousins," he said, with a grin.

"At least we're not first cousins."

Draco's answer makes him think about the offer in a light. "Wait? Do you mean to come with _with_ you?"

"I also mean come _come_ with me, but that can wait until later," he says, smirking.

"How are you this comfortable? You are… I am… We're both … men?" Sirius isn't sure what he's asking. He certainly knows that they are both men and doesn't need confirmation, but he doesn't know what else to say.

"Yes, that had not escaped my notice," Draco says in a very snotty tone that reminds Sirius of Regulus and that's possibly a very bad association considering the discussion. "I hope you aren't offended. You're always so close, I thought- Wait, why are you so close all the time if you aren't interested?"

Shit!

Sirius has to think fast. Draco's eyes narrow and he knows that Draco is moments away from figuring him out, so he blurts out the first thing that comes to mind. "I'm interested, but it wasn't _done_ in my times. I mean I liked girls as much as boys so it didn't matter."

Apparently it's enough to distract Draco, because he relaxes, but he's still pensive. "Boys, girls? You haven't dated since-"

"When? Since being in Azkaban? Since being locked up in this house, because exposing myself would get me arrested? Since being in that Veil? Since coming back? No, can't say that I have. Most of my friends are dead and when I've gone out, people want to talk to Sirius Black, the hero or to Harry's godfather. I want to hex them more than date them," he admits.

"I know the feeling. After the war, people wanted the reformed bad boy or the rich pureblood with the good connections. Neither side realised that I wasn't a bad boy, reformed or not; I did what I did out of fear and family obligations, and my connections weren't something I'd ever use. Potter has done enough for me without me asking him for more." Draco covers Sirius' hand with his. "We can just go as friends if it's too soon."

"You really want to go out with me?" James and Remus would laugh their arses off if they were here to listen to his insecurities. He was the self-assured one, the one who always had a date, and now he can't believe that someone wants him enough to ask him out.

"Why shouldn't I? You have the perfect looks, although we do need to get you proper clothes for the masquerade. You are intelligent, rich, come from a very good family and I know for a fact that you aren't interested in being a Malfoy," Draco says with an amused smile. "We are enjoying each other's company and I'm asking you out on a date, not proposing that we take an Unbreakable Oath to seal our engagement, or some other weird ancient tradition this family has."

"It wasn't an Unbreakable Oath. There was a special binding spell and a ring. It bound the people. This is how they got twelve year olds married. It happened to the oldest male. The family would ensure that they got married to older women before they could be old enough to show a preference. They'd get married, have sex, bet the wives pregnant and go back to Hogwarts for the next five years while their wives who were already eighteen would live with his family and raise the child." He hates himself that he knows all of this, but he did grow up in this family.

"That's depressing. Mother never talked about that, but imagine having a father who's twelve? No wonder Aunt Bella went mad. It makes sense since she was the oldest," Draco reasons.

"Now that you mention it, my mother was much the same. It's why I never got along with Bella. She reminded me of my mother." He never questioned their childhood, but it couldn't have been normal either. "The grandparents probably raised them, with very strict Black ideals."

"I'm glad we have ended those traditions. I'm unlikely to have children, given my inclinations, but I'd like to have them, to have the relationship I have with my mother." He got up. "And now, I'm going back to work, but I'll finish early today so we can buy you clothes for the party."

A shopping trip with Draco is enough to prove that he's indeed evil. At the shop, Draco tells the tailor exactly what he wants Sirius to wear. He does so by touching Sirius repeatedly, in places that he shouldn't be touching in polite company. However, the tailor is unperturbed by it. Once upon a time, Sirius would have been unruffled as well, but he hasn't been touched like that in over a decade and Remus' hugs didn't have the same connotation. Getting hard at his age from little touches is embarrassing and he does his best to hide both the hard on and the embarrassment.

He spends the rest of the week helping Draco. He knows that he's paying Draco, but he enjoys the spell work required in some of the renovation. He tries to figure them out on his own, and when he can't, he asks Draco, but that's not as much fun. He hasn't done anything this enjoyable since- he almost tears up when he thinks about the last time, four friends making a map, before death and betrayal. 

Draco seems to understand, because he lets Sirius do what he wants, even when he's a hindrance. Like the time that he was trying to create the spells for the music room and the room started to mimic his mother's screams. Sirius was ready to destroy the entire house when he couldn't make it stop, but Draco was very calm, fixed everything and then went back to his work with a smile for Sirius. That is definitely not Black behaviour. You get berated for the rest of your life for your mistake, but when Sirius asked Draco about it, he said that it'd never been Narcissa's style. Ten points to Slytherin for being a great mom!

That isn't the only time Sirius caused some mayhem, but they get to Friday without any loss of life or limb. Draco leaves early, because 'I must look spectacular and it takes time'. Draco gives a list of things he simply _must_ do and it includes things like a facial, manicure. Sirius doesn't have the inclination for any of that. He's always been too impatient to sit still, and even if he'd enjoyed those activities, Azkaban cured him of that.

He has to admit that when he arrives at the gates of Malfoy Manor, Draco does look spectacular, even though Sirius hates the masks that they are wearing. They only cover half their faces, but they still remind him of dark marks and battlefields. "You look nice."

"Nice? How terribly boring! I look gorgeous and you know it. Are you sure you don't want to come in and see Mother and Father?" Draco says.

"Maybe some other time. If I go in, I feel we'll never leave." They are more likely to hex each other and end up in St. Mungo's, but the alternative would be discussing decades of history. He's not sure which outcome he hates more.

"All right, some other time then." Draco takes Sirius' hand. "Let's go party."

Sirius grins. He loves… and when exactly did he start using that word in connection to a Malfoy? Or a Slytherin? He tries not to think about it too hard, but he admits that he loves the way that Draco moves on, never pushing, as if he understands when something is too heavy to handle. He's noticed that Draco does the same and he carries too many scars for someone so young. 

He puts that out of his mind when they arrive to the Parkinson's house. It's a relatively large house in the country side, but nothing like Malfoy Manor. When they step inside, the house comes alive with voices and music. "Looks nice."

"Your house can feel like this, too," Draco says, understanding that Sirius isn't talking about the décor.

Sirius laughs bitterly at the reassurance. "I can have a party with you and Harry. I can really go all out and invite Andromeda and Narcissa. The last Blacks alive."

"You could invite Teddy. You haven't met him yet," Draco says and he sounds a little like Harry, when he wants to tell Sirius to do something, but doesn't want to push.

"He's a kid," Sirius says defensively.

"He's your best friend's son and he's old enough to want to know about him. Potter can't really tell him much. We knew him as a professor. Potter might have known him a little more, but he was in school and fighting a war. Neither let him become Lupin's best friend," Draco points out.

"I suppose. I miss him. He's the only one I got to know as an adult. Everyone else died or I never had the chance to see them brow up while I was in Azkaban." Sirius shakes his head. "We're not discussing this at a party."

"Right you are. No serious discussion here. Here, have a drink. I'm Pansy and it's very nice to meet you. A friend of Draco's is a friend of mine." Pansy has a dress that squeezes her breasts so tight that Sirius wonders if it's painful. "Keep your masks on, don't tell anyone who you are, have a blast."

"How did you know who we are?" Sirius asks, because it's clear that she does know.

Pansy laughs. "Have you seen the colour of his hair? There's no way anyone can fake that and I knew he was bringing you. By the way, there are spells to keep things private. No one can speak about the party out there, so do enjoy yourself." She turns around and leaves.

"We don't have to stay for the second part of the party," Draco says as they walk toward the large drawing room.

Sirius senses that there's more about this party. "What happens later on that requires spells?"

Draco looks abashed behind the mask. "Well, let's just say that the masks are the only thing that stay on after a certain time."

Sirius blinks. He thought _he_ was the rebel, and here a bunch of Slytherins doing things that he'd never dreamt of. Dating a boy was already scandalous enough. Suddenly all the comments about women bedding him and being too heterosexual make sense. "You have orgies?" he says in a whisper.

Draco shrugged. "We really need more entertainment in our world and since no one will provide, we create our own. I don't usually stay though. I'm a little more… private."

"Usually." That means that sometimes Draco stays and the idea makes him feel hot all over. 

"Usually, and you did say that you haven't got laid since I was a year old. This is your opportunity. Lots of sex, no strings attached, and you can see what you like and don't like without any commitment," he explains.

Sirius has had enough. Until now he's gone along, because… mostly because he was bored, but he's still a stubborn arse when he wants to be. He grabs Draco's arm and drags him out of the room and through different stairs until he finds an empty room. It's dark here. It's clearly not a room meant for the guests and Sirius doesn't care. He presses Draco against the door without thinking. "You listen to me."

"Are you trying to intimidate me? Because it won't work," Draco says, not moving from where he is.

Sirius realises that their bodies are pressed against each other, in a dark room and he's basically hissing. "No, I'm… It has nothing to do with that. I don't want to have sex with random strangers. I don't think I even could, not this way, with strangers around, not even seeing their faces. It's all..." It's so foreign to the way he grew up. "I'm not saying I want the traditional courtships, chaperones or any of that bull from my parents' time, but I want to get to know the person I'm with. I want some connection. I want to care… and I sound old."

Draco shakes his head. "You don't sound old. You sound like you've spent enough time alone and this is too impersonal for you. I'm sorry. I thought it'd be a good idea."

"It's fine. I appreciate the thought," Sirius says, feeling a little…disappointed. He was looking forward to spending time with Draco. He almost leaves it alone. Almost. He is a Gryffindor and there's a thin line between bravery and stupidity. "I thought you wanted to spend time with me."

Draco pulls up his mask and smiles softly. He presses his hand against Sirius' cheek. "You thought right, but you said it yourself. You haven't been with anyone else. I wanted to give you the change to explore and not be stuck with me."

"I'm not stuck. I want to be here. I'm still not sure why you'd want to date me, but I want to… and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I want to do it the proper way." His mother would laugh her aristocratic arse off, but Sirius is from a different time, his real life having ended in 1981 and he needs to learn current customs, but he certainly won't start by participating in an orgy with strangers.

Draco grins. "You know that there's nothing wrong with that, right? I like things to be terribly proper myself. I might have indulged, but I never found it rewarding. I mean it's sex. Sex is nice and all, but after you leave, it feels empty."

"Then why in Merlin's name did you bring me here?" Sirius asks confused.

"I just-" Draco stops and sighs. "I guess I wasn't sure if you really wanted to go out with me because of me or because you're alone. I won't have you settle, because I deserve better."

"Of course you do. You're a Black," Sirius jokes, not even caring how weird it might sound. "So should we leave?"

Draco shakes his head. "No, we can still enjoy the first part of the party. We can leave when the clothes start coming off."

Sirius shakes his head. "And that still sounds very strange." 

"That's okay. You don't have to get used to it if you don't want to." Draco pushed himself off the door and that causes them to get even closer. Sirius wraps on arm around Draco's waist without thinking. It feels so natural until his brain catches up. He half expect Draco to complain, but instead he keeps talking. "Before we go back downstairs-." Draco leans in and kisses him.

A kiss.

It's such a simple gesture, something that you do as a teenager. Sirius had done a lot more than kissing while in school but it feels like a lifetime ago. His heart speeds up, there are butterflies in his stomach and his entire body comes alive. It feels special, almost like it's the first time, and just like the first time, he's breathless when the kiss ends too soon. 

"We do this as slowly as you need," Draco says all serious.

Sirius laughs and when Draco frowns, he simply says, "I'm a Gryffindor."

Draco joins in laughter. "Then we'll do it slowly until you get inpatient. Now, let's go back to the party before Pansy has my balls for deserting her."

"And we can't have that." Sirius takes Draco's hand as they rejoin the party. He looks at Draco's profile for a moment. This is crazy for so many reasons, but Sirius has always done crazy things in his life and this feels right. He doesn't know what the future will bring, but for the first time in a long time, he looks forward to the future.


End file.
